Dr Roderick Deane, Chairman of Telecom New Zealand [ NZX : TEL ], has confirmed that he will retire in the next 12 months.

Dr Deane said the precise time that he steps down will depend on the Telecom board.

He says that the decision to step down at Telecom was part of a general move to reduce his corporate responsiblities. He is also retiring from positions at the ANZ Banking Group, the ANZ National Bank, Te Papa Tongarewa, the National Museum of New Zealand, and the City Gallery Wellington Foundation.

Dr Deane said he had a number of other activities which he and his wifeGillian had been pursuing over recent years and to which he was keen todevote more time.

Dr Deane said he would continue as Chairman of Fletcher Building Ltd., asa director of Woolworths Ltd. in Australia, as Chairman of the New ZealandSeed Fund, as a member of the Board of Governance of the IHC and as atrustee of MOTU, an economic and social research group.